Sliding door for railway-cars.



PATENTBDJAN. 80, 1906.

F. D. ACKERMAN.

SLIDING DOOR POR RAILWAY GARS.

APPLICATION YILBD JULYZS, 1905.

ttosmm) rrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SLIDING DOOR FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, 1906.

Application iled July 28,1905. Serial No. 271,685.

To afl/f whom, 'it may carl/cern:

Be it known that I, FRED D. ACKERMAN, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at Hampton, in the county of Elizabeth City and State ofVirginia, have invented. certain new and useful Improvements in SlidingDoors for Railway-(lars, of which the following is a s peciication.

My invention relates to sliding doors principally for railway-cars.

The object of 'my-invention is to provide means whereby'double slidingdoors may be opened and closed together when either one is operated,

My invention will be more fully understood by having recourse to thedrawings forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is anend view of the car, having its upper part removed, also the insidecasing cut away, to show my invention in position. Fig. 2 is an end viewof the upper portion. of the doors. Fig. 3 is an end view of the H-shaped track and the flanged rollers. Fig. 4 is a perspective view ofthe upper rack-bar. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the lower rackbar.

In the drawings like reference-numerals indicate similar parts in allthe views.

1 is the car-body, and v2 is an end of the same,upon which is placed thehereinafterdescribed mechanism.

3 and 3A are sliding doors which open from cach other, and when so openthey are concealed behind the ceiled portion of the car` Woodwork. rIhedoors are adapted to open together when either 3 or 3A .is operated.

Upon the upper portion of the doors there are placed rack-bars 4 and 5,having plate portions 6 and 6A, respectively, for fastening them to thedoors in a suitable manner. These plates cause the rack-bars to have anIL-shaped form and are placed above the doors, as shown in Figs. 1 and2.' The plates 6 and 6 are placed above the doors at their centers, sothat they may be properly balanced. The plate 6A is provided with anoffset for permitting the rack-bar 4 to pass it, as shown. The rack-barshave also an angular or IL shape, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, with theteeth arranged in a suitable manner upon one of the arms of the angle,and when the racks are in place upon the doors the teeth are oppositelydisposed, as shown.

7 is a gear-wheel meshing with and operating both racks in oppositedirections, so as to place the doors in the positions shown in Figs.

1 and 2, which is also indicated by the arrows at the upper portions ofboth figures.

The gear-wheel 7 rotates upon the shaft or axle 8, located upon the endwoodwork of the car.

In order to prevent the gear-wheel 7 from getting out of mesh with theracks due to vibration, I provide rollers 9 and l0, which roll upon thetoothless portions of the rackbars and are fastened, together with thegear- Wheel 7, to the base-plate or support 10A.

`To properly hang the doors and to eliminate friction, I also providerollers 11, having deep double iianges 12 thereon, two of which areusually placed. near each end of the upper portion of' the doors oneabove the other at such a distance apart so as to enable them to receivethe double-flanged or H-shaped track or hanger 1.3 between them, asshown in Fig. 4.

The rack-bar 4 acts, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to prevent the gear-wheelor pinion 7 from becoming disconnected from the rack by the plain edgebearing against the pinion should the rollers 11 become inoperative orleave their track.

The rollers 11 are supported upon shafts or axles 14. Also the rollers 9and 10 have similar axles, (denoted by 15,) which are fixed in thebase-plate 10".

By my invention I am enabled to provide means whereby the hanging ordisarrangement of car-doors is prevented, as the mechanism is such thatthe parts work easily and are not liable to get out of order.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1su

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with doublesliding doors, of plates fastened at the middle upper portion of saiddoors and having rack-bars of an L-shape cross-section and disposed atright angles to said plates, and rotary means for reciprocating saidracks.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with doublesliding doors, Aof lates or webs secured to the doors of less width thanthe saine and disposed at the center thereof, said plates or webs havingrackbars of L shape in cross-section and at right angles to the platesor webs, a gear-wheel between the racks adapted to reciprocate the sameto open and close the doors together, rollers on one side of the doors,and independent H-shaped tracks for the rollers, one for each of thesaid doors.

3. In a device of the class described, the Combination With doublesliding doors, of a plate or Web secured to the top of each door nearits center, a raok-barioneaoh plate at right angles thereto extendingabove and beyond the said doors,a pinion between the racks for openingand Closing one door by the other, one of the said rack-bars extendingupon each side of the pinion, rollers on the plain surface of the racksfor preventing vertical movement thereof, flanged rollers on each sideof the doors, and tracks or guide-,rails having an H shape ineross-seotion Jfor supporting said rollers.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto af- I5 fixed my signature, in thepresence of tWo Witnesses, this 19th day of July, 1905.

FRED D. ACKERMAN.

Witnesses:

R. L. J. GAYLORD, WALTER B. BURROW.

